My Smiling Lunchtime Angel
by Princess LeBlanc
Summary: Kim, a high school girl who is into K-Pop and K-Dramas has moved from New York to South Korea with her parents. She is saved from a bully one lunch time by none other then Kang Daesung of Big Bang.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, rise and shine sleepy head. It's time for your first day of classes." I could feel the blanket being ripped off me, and the curtains being opened to reveal a beautiful and bright sunny day. Unfortunately I had no intentions of welcoming it just yet. In my half conscious confusion, I grabbed at the blanket that had been pulled off me, to find it gone. Yes, I mean completely gone, like from the bed.

_Damn, she knows me to well_. I sighed. I heard a little laugh from behind me. Putting my knees under me, I pushed my butt in the air and proceeded to slowly open my eyes towards the laugh a slight grumble in my throat.

"Look at you! You're so funny when you don't want to wake up. What happened to my early riser Kim? Back in America you were always up by eight am! You never, ever slept past nine am even." What happened to her? What happened? Oh I don't know, she was put on a plane along with her family and shipped off to Korea less than a week ago. Is it possible someone could be still suffering from just a little jet lag? But instead I decided to answer properly. After all, I am not one to anger my mother this early in the morning. No need to make today any harder or longer then it has to be.

"Uuuugghhh….Well it's possible I was up till an ungodly hour this morning talking to Teresa." I groaned pulling myself up into a sitting position on my bed.

"And why would you do that?" She asked, tossing pieces of clothing at me as she found what I needed to wear for the day.

"Cause, it's not like I can call her up and talk at a normal time. I mean hell, if I tried to call her in the afternoon or evening, it would be the early hours of the morning there. And you know how much Rere loves her sleep." I snickered to myself remembering the fits she used to have when I used to wake her up early and rush her to get ready for school.

"Oh. Sure, nice excuse. Anyway, put on your uniform, get ready and come out for breakfast alright? Your father's already left for work, and I have to get ready soon myself." She walked out, closing the door behind her as I stood up and started pulling my pajamas off. To think, just a few months ago we were happily living in a nice little house, in New York. And now, with my father's company relocating him, I am in Seoul South Korea. What a change! I'm going to be an eleventh grader, in a new school, without any of my old friends. Here I am world, alone in South Korea, with only my parents for company.

I was not totally unhappy either though. Because like a coin, there are two sides to me living here. About two years ago, my friends Stephanie and Mon introduced me to Korean pop music, and from there I got into Korean dramas and variety shows. I guess you could say I became just a little obsessed, riding the Korean wave! I quickly adopted SM Entertainment's Super Junior, YG Family's Big Bang and Lee Hyori as my all time favorite singers. But I always listen to the others, from DBSK all the way to SHINee and MBLAQ.

But anyway I should continue, having fallen in love with them, and always wanted to be able to watch any show, program or music video without subs, I started taking Korean classes about a year ago. Completely unaware that this would be happening so shortly after. This has made me not only the Korean to English translator for my family, but also the only one to know anything about our currently new lifestyle.

My parents accept the change with open arms, and had spent the last few months learning the Koran language. But my sister, she was livid and completely unhappy. She hates Asian culture, ever since I tried to get her into it years ago. She would tell me to stop listening to music that doesn't make sense, and to speak English whenever I would try and practice my Korean. She wouldn't even try to learn it, after finding out that we would be moving here for a few years at the very least. She went as far as protesting by not going to school, locking herself in her room and threatening to run away. I know, she's quite the drama queen.

So we did the only thing we could think of, we had her move in with my grandparents, my father's mother and father. So that she could stay where she wanted and finish school with her friends.

_Oh well, her loss_. I thought to myself as I got dressed and danced around listened to DBSK's "Mirotic". I stopped in front of the mirror in my room and took a look at the uniform on me. I couldn't help but notice how tight the skirt looked on me and how stretched the blouse was.

"AISH!" I yelled out loud "Why does everything in Korea have to be so small?" I already hated myself enough as it is, but now I had to be even more self conscious. I began feeling like Kim Sam-Soon from "My Lovely Sam-Soon". I was a 180 pound, size 14 white girl in a extra small, petite country. Even after dieting for months prior to coming here, I was still HUGE. I was not seeing how this was a good thing.

After eating a small breakfast, I AM NOW ON A DIET! AGAIN! I made my way to the high school. It took me about twenty minutes to find the place and get inside properly, since I was new to the area. I went to the office, and was escorted to what would be my main classroom. Outside the room's door, I took a deep breath and tried to calm my heart down.

_Alright, Korean mode: ON!_ I thought as I was waved into the room by the office secretary. I could see all eyes on me as I walked in, and could hear the teacher introducing me.

"This is Kim Bu…Bu-cca…" He seemed to be having trouble saying my last name. Figures, even my teachers in America couldn't pronounce my last name right, so why would someone who has probably never had to pronounce a single Italian last name know how to say it.

"Seonsaeng, it's Buccaridi" I said to him politely. "Boo-car-ee-dee". He repeated it back once to me, catching the correct saying quickly, and continued.

"Yes, anyway, she is starting as a student with us today. She came from New York, but has two years of Korean languages classes and as you can see, can speak it pretty well. I expect you to all make her feel welcome and to help her should she need it. Would you like to say anything to the class?" He looked at me as I faced everyone.

"Yes, uh…. Annyounghasehyo everyone! Please treat me well." I bowed to the class. "and if any of you are unable to pronounce my last name, feel free to just use 'Ridi'. I know it can be a pain to pronounce sometimes. Kamsamnida." I bowed again and looked to the teacher to continue.

"Yes, well please take a seat over next to Hyoshi. Hyoshi, please raise your hand." A shorter girl with a heart shaped face and shoulder length hair, raised her hand from the second to last row in the room. I walked past everyone and took a seat next to her. I put my hand out to try and introduce myself to her, but even before I could get the "Ann…" sound out of my mouth, she had turned her back to me and began looking out the window.

_Um, okay. Guess she is a little shy_. I thought to myself as the teacher began the day's class. The most I could say about the first half of classes that day is how surprised I was that I understood basically everything that was said, even with only two years of classes, and how every once and a while, I caught the others looking at me. _Probably because I am a new student, and an American in a Korean high school. Is it just me, or are the girls glaring at me?_ I tried to ignore it as the lunch break came around.

I walked down to the cafeteria, picked up a lunch and tried to find a seat for myself. Of course no one was just going to invite me over, so I walked around for a few minutes and found most everyone starring at me. Alright, so let's not sit with anyone today. I found an empty table by the doors, sat down and tried to eat my lunch quietly, still noticing plenty of people's eyes on me.

About ten minutes later, a group of what looked like five girls and three guys walked up to my table with their lunches and drinks. I looked up, and I recognized one of the girls as Hyoshi from my class. As I tried to smile and wave at her, one of the other girls stepped in front of my line of vision.

"Oy…Ridi-sshi is it?" She asked me quickly. I looked up at her and smiled. It looked like it was going to be easier to make friends then I thought.

"Yeah. Yeah it is Kim Baccaridi" I said to her. She simply snorted and looked around to the others.

"So, this is the new alien in our school." Alien? Me? What's that supposed to mean? So I stood up and tried to figure out what she meant.

"Um…excuse me. But…alien? I'm afraid I don't understand." She and the rest of the group let out a little laugh before she came right up to my face and at only an inch away, and with a growl in her voice spoke.

"Mmmm…alien. You see, we don't take kindly to new students who think their all that. And we most certainly don't take kindly to fat American students." She basically spit the word American out like it was some kind of curse.

_Wow…fat American_. Even after hearing it for so long growing up, and even after I told myself that I would not let it bother me, it still stung. But I tried to ignore it none the less, because if I thought on it to long, it would just depress me. Thinking to the rest of what she had said I realized something else that bothered me. What did she mean 'think their all that?' Had I offended anyone?

"Well, I am sorry that you don't like Americans…" I left out the 'fat' part on purpose because I promised myself I would not acknowledge that part, "I will try and stay out of your way and hopefully prove that Americans are not bad." I stopped for a moment, and she turned her back to me as if to walk away. "But what do you mean when you said 'think I am all that'?" I asked her. When she didn't respond, I touched the back of her shoulder with the tip of my fingers, hopefully getting her attention.

"AIGO!" Whipping around and facing me. "Don't…ever…EVER…Touch me!" She seethed. By this point, most of the cafeteria was watching us, and even her group of friends seemed to have moved a few steps away from her. "I don't need your filthy, disgusting, obese hands on me…ever. You hear me?{" She asked getting close to my face again. I could almost feel her breathe on my face. "You disgusting, American…PIG." I could feel her anger and tried to back-up in defense, but she was too quick. She had stuck her petite leg out behind my left foot, and I tripped me. I fell flat on my butt with a painful sigh.

I went to look up and pick myself off the floor, when I felt cold liquid hitting my head and running down my face and back. Putting my hands to my head, I realized it was cold aloe juice from my lunch. I gasped and started to tear up.

"Go back to America. You disgust me." She said, dropping the bottle at my feet and turning away. The rest of her group followed her lead and turned their backs on me, some laughing as they turned. I went to get up, and slipped again on the juice that had dripped on to the floor. So I sat there, on the floor, in front of the entire cafeteria watching, and cried. What else could I do? It was only my first day, and already I was hated and being bullied. I thought when I left America and those self centered Abercrombie wannabes, this would stop. But it's already starting and it's already worse then back home.

As the tears finally finished forming and began trickling down my cheeks, I felt something hit my head and back. But this thing was soft, like clothing. In fact, it was clothing. I suddenly gasped and put my hands on the cloth. It was a uniform jacket from the school, but it was a male jacket. Shocked, I looked up but saw nothing in front of me, but the group walking away and a lot of blank faces staring from their seats.

"Hey..." I heard called from behind me. "That was definitely not called for, now was it?" It was a male voice, I understood that much, and he seemed to be…defending me? I listened from under the jacket, but didn't dare look up. The girl whipped around and gasped.

"Su…Sun….Sunbae!" She sputtered out, then tried to fix her hair as she spoke and walked back in my direction "What are you doing here?" She looked and sounded like she was trying to be cute and flirty now. "Shouldn't you be in one of the offices? You always have those schedule meetings during lunch hour." She continued walking, and had almost passed me when he spoke again.

"Stop." I could hear the power in his voice. She stopped, standing diagonal from me and looked right past me. "I know you're still mad about Thom, but you can't keep thinking about the past. You have to move on Park-sshi".

"Don't mention him." She said coldly. "He has nothing to do with this, besides he's all the way back in Kentucky now." She scoffed at the voice.

"Really? Then why pick on the American that obviously is not oblivious since she knows Korean, and is respectful since she knows the correct honorifics?" I could hear the smug sarcasm in his voice as he was talking to the girl that I am assuming was Park-sshi. I was still crying a little at this point, but still completely in shock, with wide eyes and a soaking wet uniform. Before I knew it, the blood in her face seemed to rise, and she turned her body back to me.

"REALLY…IT'S NOT…ABOUT…HIM." She continued to huff out at the top of her lungs. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder where all the teachers are when things like this go down. " I just…HATE…..AMERICANS…" I saw her hand raise above her head. She looked like she was about to hit something. "…AND THEIR STUPID…STUPID ACCENTS…AND THEIR STUPID…STUPID FOODS…AND…." I realized in a split second,

_She's going to hit ME._ I closed my eyes and ducked my face in hopes of protecting myself before her hand could come down and do some serious damage. But it never came. I waited for the hand/head contact, but it never did. A few seconds later I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me to my feet.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here and clean you up." The male voice said to me. I tried to pull back the uniform jacket as we left the cafeteria, but he stopped me. "You're all wet, leave that on for now. At least till we can clean you up and dry you off. No need for a cold." And I could here him say in a lower whisper "…or for you to see all the others staring at us." The blood rushed to my face, and I could feel the tears welling up again. I sniffed a few times to try and keep everything down. He had his arm around me, guiding me somewhere within the school.

As we walked in silence thru the school, I could feel the shock starting to wear off and just how wet and sticky I had become. I also realized how familiar this male voice seemed to be. I felt like I had heard it before, but I couldn't quite figure out WHERE I had heard it.

_Was he in my class? Heard him talking in the hall? Maybe he works at one of the stores I had been to in the past few days to buy things_. I kept wondering as we walked up a few flights of stairs and threw a large wooden door. _Should the better question be WHY I'm trusting him and following him? He might just be doing this to set me up for another joke or to bully me again._ And yet, I couldn't help but feel comforted in his presence, like everything was going to be okay as long as I had him to lead me. _KIM! What the HELL? Snap out of it. Obviously we have learned for today's little 'exercise' that you can't trust anyone right now. Only yourself. Now…FOCUS! He's talking to you._ I realized what my mental self was yelling at me, and focused back on reality. He was talking to me, but I wasn't really listening. Because at that point I noticed the room we were in. It was a long, regal looking room, with cherry maple paneling and what looked like a very expensive and very long meeting table. Everything was glowing in the afternoon sunlight and seemed to shine as my eyes focused on everything. I tried to focus back on reality when I felt his hand touch my shoulder. I guess I wasn't expecting it, or I was still on guard after everything that had just happened. I jumped and tried to turn around quickly, only to fail and slip on the smooth wooden floor.

I fell backwards and felt the top of the very expensive, and as I am now realizing, very HARD table behind me hit my head. AIGO! As if this ay couldn't get any worse. I had figured all my humiliation and problems had to be used up for the day. I mean really, who did I piss off upstairs that this is all happening to me? Today of all days, my first day at a school I was going to have to spend the next two years of my life at.

I felt the pain in my head before I moved down to my neck and back. Can you say 'ouch'? Yeah, let's just say that is an understatement. I don't remember tables ever being that hard before. Really, what was it, stone? I'm not sure how long my eyes were closed as the pain took control of my body, but in what seemed like seconds he was at my side calling my name and pushing the hair out of my face.

_Is he hitting me face?_ I wondered as I could feel his palm softly patting the side of my face. I picked up my arm and using the most effort I could with my eyes closed, located his arm and put my hand on it to try and stop him for 'patting' my face.

"Okay, okay." I said keeping my hand on his arm. Wow…his arm felt muscular.

_Who is this guy? Now I'm curious_! I'm laying in pain on the floor of a random room with a guy I know nothing about. I mean hell I haven't even see his face yet, and all I can think about it is his muscles. AISH! I'm annoying myself now.

"I'm fine, you can stop hitting me now." I tried to let out a soft chuckle and pick myself up to a sitting position, but as I did I felt the headache coming on and everything seemed dizzy even with my eyes closed. "Woooah." I stopped and decided the floor was probably a nice place to stay for a little while longer. I mean hey, what's the rush? It was quiet a nice floor…at least from what I could feel.

But of course the guy had other plans.

"Come on, you should sit up." I heard silence as I am sure he was waiting for me to try and sit up again. Nuh-uh, not happening. We tried that once and see what happened? PAIN! That's what. "Okay, at least open your eyes, se if you can focus and that everything is clear. At least do that and make sure you're alright. You hit that table really hard." I wanted to yell at him, NO SHIT SHERLOCK! But right now laying in dark silence felt better then opening my mouth. I could hear him waiting yet again. He did save me earlier, and he is here now trying to make sure I am alright, at the very least I must owe him this, Right?

So I did what I was told and tried opening my eyes. I started seeing blurry sunlight streaming into the room from what looke4d like a window. Except it was making my head hurt worse again. So I closed them.

"Agh! What good is this? I can't even open my eyes for you. It just makes my head hurt worse." At least the talking didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. Must mean the pain was starting to subside, a few more minutes of this and I would be fine. I heard him laughing quietly to himself, and I liked the sound of his laugh. It was kind and made me want to smile.

"It's okay. The fact that you're talking is a good sign." He laughed again and made me smile. Two more minutes passed and I decided we could give this whole sitting up and opening eyes thing another go.

"Alright." I sighed when I felt like the pain had dulled down enough and my head was feeling less, can we say 'cracked open'? "I'm going to have a nice big bump on my head for the next few days, but hey, I was SO aiming to make myself bigger!" I cracked a smile and tried to get a chuckle out of him.

"Was that a joke?" He asked me with an inquisitive tone to his voice. "Do you really want to get bigger? Because you seem fine to me..." I wish I could have seen his face at this point, because it seemed to me that he was complimenting me. One awkward silence later, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Yes, so…anyway. Let's get you up. I'm going to help you a little just to make sure you don't get dizzy and fall back again. Okay?"

He didn't even wait for my response as I felt his arm make its way around my back, and he place himself next to me so I was fully supported by him.

"Alright. Open your eyes." I did as I was told. As I opened them, things were fuzzy, but cleared up quickly. I saw the room again, and I saw the door and my uniform skirt as I looked down. Everything seemed to be in one piece, and I wasn't dizzy. Just dealing with a minor headache. I had almost forgotten he was next to me, that is until he spoke up. "So…better?"

"Yes actually! Much better!" I smiled and turned to look at him for the first time. "Thank you so much!" Our eyes met and my jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw who was sitting next to me.

"That's great! Well hello, my name is Kang Daesung, but you can just call me your lunchtime savior." He laughed to himself, as I just sat there in disbelief trying to collect all my thoughts on what exactly was sitting next to me.

Well damn, no wonder I was thinking he sounded familiar, I mean it's only the smiling angel himself!


	2. He's Just a Normal Person

He laughed again before his gaze met mine. I tried to hide the surprise as quickly as I could, but I don't think I hid it fast enough.

"Ah," He smiled and moved his hand off my back. "Should I assume that little look of surprise means you know who I am?" He asked innocently enough. Of course I knew who he was! Big bang's Daesung! Born April 26th 1989, the second youngest member of Big Bang after Seungri, his Japanese stage name is D-Lite and he is known as 'The Smiling Angel'. OF COURSE I FREAKIN' KNOW WHO HE IS! But, but what was he doing in front of me? I didn't know he went to school, and HERE of all place.

AISH! But I digress; I don't need him knowing that I am such a big fan, because being a mega fangirl is just creepy. I mean these guys are people too. They don't need crazy fans following them everywhere and being over the top and in their faces right? I swore that if I ever met an idol that I would treat them like a normal person, because let's be honest, with all the insanity that all most of them ever want anyway. From the look on his face, I think he is waiting for me to answer.

"Oh, um…yeah, course I do. You're from that singing group Big Bang." I pulled away from his support only to realize that moving to fast was still a bad idea. "Woah…" I grabbed my head, and at the same time he grabbed my shoulders to steady me.

"Hey now, let's take it easy there Kim-sshi." I looked at him from the corner of my eye. Did he just call me by my first name? I think he realized it to. "Oh, uh…I mean Ridi-sshi. Hehe, sorry. I am just really used to Kim being a last name, and not a first." He looked away, seeming embarrassed. I laughed a little as I felt his hold loosen.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm really American remember? So being called by my first name is fine." He looked at me as though I had lost my mind. I laughed yet again. "Okay, how about this then. You can call me by my first name because….uh…you're my first friend?" I think I might have surprised him there.

"Me? Your friend? Your….. first friend?" He asked honestly.

"Yeah. Seeing as it is my first day and all, and I've only been here for about a week. I haven't really made many friends so far. And, well if that scene in the cafeteria had anything to do with predicting the future, looks like I won't be making very many." I sighed and let my head fall into my hands. Such stress, and on my first day too!

"Oh, yes, well first let me just say I would be happy to be your friend. You're one of the first Americans I have ever, befriended…and um about Park-sshi." He moved himself to face me. "Come, let's sit at the table and I'll explain what was going on there. I agreed and he helped me up and to a chair close to me. He leaned over and looked at me before sitting down himself. "Feeling better? Still dizzy or hurting anywhere?" I laughed a little.

"Eh, not really. Only a little bit of the dizzy feeling when I stand up or sit down, but at this point I was expecting that." He rolled his eyes at me and sighed. I think he is realizing that I am not one to like attention, or mention when I'm hurting. I tend to do better when I deal with it by myself. Trying to get him back on the original topic and off myself, I went on. "So, you are part of Big Bang right? And please tell me more about Park-sshi hating Americans? This has a story to go along with it?" I started worrying that I had overloaded him with my questions as I saw his eyes get big for a moment, but he handled it just fine. Course he handled it just fine! What am I SAYING? This is the same guy who is used to cameras and microphones being shoved in his face constantly. Fans and reporters alike screaming his name and trying to ask him questions all at the same time…Course he can handle my silly little questions.

"Well first, about myself…uh…well, my name is Daesung, Kang Daesung. I am seventeen, um…I guess sixteen in American years." I laughed at him trying to do the calculations as if there was some kind of major change between Korea and America besides the languages. "I's part of the Korean pop group Big Bang, managed by the YG Family…." He seemed as though he didn't know what to say about himself, and I found it utterly adorable!

_AH! Kim, focus! He is talking to you and all you can think about is how cute he looks. Flustered or not, you need to A) get a grip, I men LOOK at you and LOOK at him. You, a fat, average American girl who's being bullied at her first day of school, and him…well he is a very good looking, rockin' bodied k-pop superstar with perfect skin and hair, not to mention the smile of a god and legions of adoring fans who would protect him to the death._ Thanks mental me, making me feel great here. _And B) He's is talking, you know better than to ignore someone when they are speaking to you, especially someone who saved your skin a few times today._ Yeah, that second part makes more sense right now, even if they are both relevant.

"…Park-sshi." He finished whatever sentence he was saying as I came out of my mental argument with myself.

"I'm sorry what?" I asked him, blushing from embarrassment of having to ask him to repeat himself. He laughed, then spoke again.

"Oh boy, you're already reminding me of **Jiyoon hyung** and **Choi hyung**." He continued to laugh a bit more. "Sorry I mean G-Dragon and T.O.P., you know, two of the other members from Big Bang. Just the way you seem to drift off no matter what is going on, mentally talking to yourself I would assume." Dang this boy already knew me to well. "But yeah, what I was saying before. About Park-sshi. Her ex-boyfriend, his name was Thom Senwall, and he was American. In the middle of last school year, he left to return to America because his father's company decided to relocate, again. She was completely heartbroken since she was convinced he was 'the one'. And now any American she meets reminds her of him, man, woman, child, anything." I was beginning to understand. "It is nothing personal, just the simple fact you are American. Your best bet is to just stay away from her and not make friend with anyone in her group."

"Trust me, that is not an issue." I looked down at my uniform and then back up at him. "I think I got the point of what she was trying to tell me, and I don't think either of us plan on being buddy-buddy any time soon." I saw him smile and then look at my uniform. He sighed and got up.

"I may be able to help you with that a little bit" He walked over to an ornate looking cabinet, opened its door and disappeared behind it for a few moments. When he reappeared, in his hands he had a what looked like a large t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. "Here, go put these on. They won't exactly fit you like your clothes do, but they should be good enough to get you home and washed up." He handed them to me as I surveyed the clothing. The t-shirt was a size large, and had the logo from their first music videos on it. You know, the two "B"s? One forward and one backwards. And the sweatpants, were a size large as well, and looked like they would probably fit me.

_Oh thank Shishus for men's clothes!_ I thought, laughing at myself for making a Super Junior joke in front of a member of Big Bang. _Whoops, wrong group!_ I tried to play this one as cool as I could.

"Um, this shirt? B, B?" I made the best confused look I could muster.

"Oh, um…yeah, you know. For Big Bang, my group. I have a ton of them since all the specialty shirts they make for us are made in multiples so we never have to worry about ruining one in concert or during a shoot, or having to wash it for the next day…you know…that kind of stuff" He is so adorable when he is trying to play things off as normal, only to realize normal for him is so not normal for the rest of us! Hahaha! Aw!

_Kim! STOP! We are focusing! Do not, I repeat do NOT get pulled in!_ Right, focusing.

"Wow, um thank you! This means a lot to me….sunbae?" I realized I wasn't sure what to call him, so I tried the first thing I figured would work. I mean he might be a little younger than me, but he was higher up in general then me right?

"Please, hehe….Sunbae is so…formal! If I can call you Kim-sshi, then you can call me Daesung-sshi, or even use what the guys call me if you want to Dae-sshi." Wow, I think I have a new favorite name in the whole world. Dae-sshi, sounds like music to my ears. It just works so well!

"Oh…okay." I realized again how much it meant to be able to call him by his first name. "Um, then Dae-sshi…uhh…" It seemed to weird, after all, I had been taught for so long to always use the right honorifics that it felt strange, but nice at the same time. "Thank you!" I smiled towards him, "I'll make sure to give these back first thing tomorrow!" I could feel my smile grow by the second. Having someone as a friend here in Korea was going to be nice. I now had someone I could to an extent talk to and be friendly with. That made me all the more happier.

"Wow, you have a really nice smile!" He commented towards me. "I like that! I can tell we are going to get along real great Kim-sshi! Helping you today was the right choice, even if it did mean missing my lunch schedule meeting." He laughed. "Actually, thank you. Those things are always so stuffy and boring that mixing it up a little like we did today was nice!" He went silent for a moment before speaking again. I could tell her was choosing his words very carefully at this point. "Listen, if you ever… need to…uh… find me at lunch time again. You know, like today, or if you can't sit in there because of Park-sshi and her group. You can always find me in here whenever I am in school. During lunch break, I am always in this meeting room with my manager and a secretary to work out my daily schedules and for homework help. As long as you want to, you're welcome to join me for lunch in here. I mean I wouldn't want my new friend to get bullied at lunch all because I couldn't be there to help her." He smiled and got up to leave so that I could change. "I'll be right outside this door on a call to my manager alright? If you need anything else just call."

"Thank you!" I called towards him as he walked out of the room. I changed as fast as I could, putting my dirty uniform in my bag and then putting my shoes back on. I was surprised at just how well everything fit. The t-shirt was just the right size, and the pants were not tight like I expected them to be. They fit perfectly over my fairly large frame. Felt nice to fit something in Korea for once that wasn't either too small or too tight on me. I walked over to the door and knocked on it softly to let him know I was done changing.

He came back in, still on his phone. It looks like someone wasn't happy with him.

"Yes, yes….I know. I didn't mean to miss it. I am really sorry! Something very important popped up. Yes, I know you sent me down just to buy myself a lunch because the secretary forgot one….I understand. I'm sorry; please apologize to the others for me. I didn't mean to miss dance rehearsal. I promise that I will be there for tonight's session. Yes, yes, alright, I'll make sure. Thank you, good bye." As he hung up the cell phone and came back over to me, I looked out the window and realized how late it was getting.

"I was starting to wonder why this lunch break seemed to go on forever, and why I was getting hungry all over again! Ha!" I smiled and laughed as he finally reached me.

"Yeahhhh. I'm sorry about that. I just didn't want to get you up before you were ready, I mean you took one serious blow to the head. May I?" He asked pointing to the back of my head.

"Uh sure." I moved so that I was facing away from him, and I could feel him gently touching my head to see if he could find the bump. "AISH!" I almost screamed as his hands touched it. I know he was trying to be gentle but no matter how softly hw would have touched it, I can promise it still would have burned.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" He said letting go of my head quickly. "I just wanted to check to see where the bump was and how big it was." He put his hands behind his back like a child caught doing something wrong. I just smiled and put my hands to my temples.

"Nah, it's cool. I just didn't expect it to hurt so much." I grabbed my bag and ruffled threw for a moment. Finding what I was looking for, I pulled out my cell phone. My shiny new Cyon cell phone that of course I had bought because of Big Bang's endorsement of it. Well that and the cool clear slider touch screen. I was hoping he wouldn't notice, as I stuck the phone out and asked him "Dae-sshi, um, may I have your phone number? You know, as a friend who wants to keep I touch?" I kept trying to think of more reasons. "You know, also this way if I cannot come and sit in while you're having your lunch meetings, I can…uh…text you some funny jokes, or something interesting and keep you amused…or something." I ran out of ideas, so I just smiled as big as my mouth would stretch and held it out for him.

He laughed at me before taking the phone from my hands.

"Quite a few reasons there huh Kim-sshi? And a Cyon huh? You wouldn't happen to know that Big Bang is a Cyon spokeperson would you?" He smiled as he put his number into my phone and ai tried to fake innocence.

"Really?" Fake gasp, "no way! I had no idea! I just got it because I thought it looked cool." I don't think he bought it. At this point he must know how to read fans. I am an open book.

"Alright, but then you have to do something for me!" He poked me in the stomach with my own phone to give it back. I looked at him with a questioning look before he continued. "You have to give me your number as well. You know, so this way when you text me, know it is you, and not some crazy fangirl or stalker person." I went to open my mouth and speak, but he stopped me before I could say anything. Already knowing what I was going to ask. "Yes, it has happened before. So no, I do not answer unknown callers. It's just easier this way." He handed me his phone and I gladly put my number in it under 'Kimmi-sshi'. He took it back and checked over my entry. "Kimmi-sshi? Really?"

"Yeah, well I used to hate that name, but ever since I got older, I let my best friends call me that name. You know, the ones that have proven themselves worthy and deserve the right to use my nickname. Right now that includes my friends Teresa, Stephanie…and now you!" I laughed placing my phone back in the front pocket of my bag.

"Well then I feel truly special." He said holding the phone to his chest like a treasure. "Thank you very much Kimmi-sshi!"

"No problem Dae-sshi! Now, if I am not mistaken you have a practice or something scheduled for tonight. Right? I know I heard you mention it on the phone before hanging up with your manager." He looked guilty as he softly kicked the floor.

"Yeahhh, I guess so. We have a music video shoot coming up and we are supposed to be practicing the dance tonight and performing it for Se7en-hyung. I already missed our afternoon rehearsal because I was with you, so I have to go to tonight's. Don't think I mind though, I had fun helping you this afternoon and hey, made a new friend in the process." We both laughed.

"Such an optimistic guy, huh Dae-sshi?" He just laughed and ran a hand thru his hair.

"Yeah, well you know. That's me! . Well then I guess I'll see you later, there is car waiting for me downstairs and I need to get there soon." He opened the door and began to walk out before stopping and mentioning quickly. "Oh yeah! Don't worry about returning the clothes to me. You can keep them. Their just extra dance practice clothes I have sitting around in case I forgot mine at the hostile. And just so you know, my classroom is room 304." I listened to him as he walked out the door and then yelled back at him.

"Alright, thank you Dae-sshi! My classroom is 310! You know, in case you ever feel like visiting!" And then the smiling angel was gone. Going to another long night of practicing, just so him and all of Big Bang could be perfect for us VIPs.

After getting home, my mother asked me how my first day went. I could have told her about the bullying, about the problems and me hitting my head and the nice bump I had being hidden by my hair. But instead I kept it simple and easy.

"School went great! I made my first friend and everything!" At that time, I don't think my smile could have been any bigger if I had tried.


	3. Wait, You Speak Korean?

I'd been at the school for about a week and a half so far, and had done exactly what Daesung suggested. Plain and simple, I stayed away from Park-sshi and her group. I had been keeping mostly to myself in class, paying attention to all lectures, I had begun eating lunch in the classroom by myself, spending my time reading or studying Korean. I know Daesung had told me not to return his clothes, but I couldn't help but feel bad about keeping them. So of course I washed them and put them into my bag to give back to him. Except, well, I hadn't gotten the courage up to give it back to him. So they just sat in my bag, day after day.

By the start of my second week, I was weighing the pros and cons of returning the clothes to him, when I had a moment of courage and decided that that then and there would be the perfect time to return them. Before the day's classes began, I walked over to the classroom he told me was his, and went to open the door, when I heard a lot of talking coming from the room. Quietly, I opened the door a crack and saw Daesung, sitting at his desk in the back of the classroom, sitting quietly, while about eight or nine students, mostly girls, huddled around his desk. They were talking about anything and everything to try and get his attention. About seeing his performance on television, about how Big bang's latest songs were the best, about how great him and the other members are and so on. To be honest it made me a little sick. I mean HELLO! Give the guy some space. He's only human, and I am sure after spending almost every waking second with the band and about the band, the last thing he wants to be doing at school is thinking about the band.

I figured I had better not bother him, because the last thing he needed was another girl pushing herself into his personal space and talking about God only knows what to him. That, and seeing how petite, cute and perfect these girls were, made me suddenly lose all confidence to face him. I turned to leave, when I saw none other than Park-sshi and what looked like three members of her group walking down the hall towards where I was standing. Let's be honest here, when I saw her coming down the hall, I freaked. I got scared and tried to find a quick way out, so of course I wasn't really thinking about my actions, but instead using the flight part of my fight or flight survival skills. I found my only escape option at that second to be the door to the classroom which was right behind me. OF COURSE IT WAS…..

I quickly ducked into the classroom and closed the door behind me, keeping it open about an inch or two so I could watch and make sure Park-sshi hadn't seen me. I watched her walk past the doors and down the hall before letting out a breathe I hadn't realized I was holding and coming back to reality. Someone was calling my name.

"Kimmi-sshi!...Kimmi-sshi are you there?" I looked up and realized I was in none other than Daesung's classroom, and of course, everyone had stopped talking and ALL eyes were on me.

_Oh this is just great._ I sighed to myself. I could see the looks the other girls were giving to me. I mean if I was them, I probably would have done the same thing. A random new student from America suddenly appears in the room and the most popular student in the school, who also happens to be a national idol is calling her over using her first name and a friendly honorific as if they had been friends forever. I could see they were not happy with me.

I tried to smile at him and forget about my fears, but the glares and the mood in the room wouldn't exactly let me do that.

"Oh…ah..hi." I said shrinking my head down and backing away as far as I could to the doors. "This isn't my classroom…hehe" I tried to laugh off my being there, but it came out forced and scared. Exactly how I was feeling with all the glares directed at me. I could see Daesung smiling and waving me towards his desk.

"Hey! Come join us. I was just going to look over the notes from my last English lecture. I know your fluent in English, maybe you could help me study." I smiled weakly and took a step towards the group, but of course at that point a few of the girls stood up and started walking towards me. I wasn't sure what their intentions were, but based on the looks on their faces, it couldn't have been pretty.

Call me cowardly and a scaredy cat if you want, but I see myself as a self preservation-alist. I could see from their looks that if I had stayed who knows what would have gone down, with or without Daesung there. So I did the first thing I could think of.

"Oh…uh that's okay. I have to go back to class anyway!" I said as I found the door again and opened it up. He probably answered me or said something in return, but I didn't stick around long enough to find out. I was already out the door as the lasts words left my lips. I ran back to the my home classroom and to my desk, just as the first bell rang and everyone else started to arrive. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked myself over, only to realize I was one plastic bag short.

_CRAP! That means I left the bag with his clothes in the room. Shit, shit, SHIT! What's going to happen when one of the girls who was talking to him finds it and realizes I dropped it._ I let my head drop into my hands and I started to feel like I was going to cry. _Isn't it bad enough I have Park-sshi to be afraid of? Do I really need oh say every other girl in the school in my butt? Well, it was nice knowing you cruel world. Thanks for everything, I'll be sure to close the door on my way out._

I couldn't focus on anything in class. I spent the whole time looking around myself and checking the windows, worried that at any second someone was going to come flying in and kill me. At least it felt that way. The lunch bell rang and I was still safe, but I decided not to press my luck and instead stayed in the classroom by myself. True I had no lunch, but hey, sometimes skipping a meal is fine right? I had dropped three pounds so far and figured skipping a meal could help me lose even more.

I was in the classroom alone for all of two minutes when my cell phone went off. I immediately jumped to my feet and looked around, waiting for the attack to begin. It rang again, and I looked down at it sitting on my desk.

"Oh..hehe…it's just my cell phone." I was trying to not look out of my mind while calming back down and picking it up. "Whoopsie…" I looked at the screen as I sat back down at my desk, and saw I had a new text message. "Huh? Who could that be from? I don't exactly have a lot of friends here." I clicked the open button and saw to my surprise that it was from Daesung.

**Hey, you left rather quickly this morning, is everything alright? Why don't you come down to the meeting room and have lunch with me today. I would love to hear about how your first full week went! Oh, and I think I found something of yours too!**

** -Smile boy Dae!**

Well that sure was a nice surprise. But what could I tell him about my quick escape earlier, and what did he mean found something of mine? As long as it was the meeting room, and not a classroom filled with students who already hated my guts, it couldn't hurt. Right? So I sent texted him back.

** Oh, yeah…about this morning, I realized how late it was getting and had to run back to my classroom. Made it just in time too! I would love to come and sit with you if you don't mind. Be there shortly.**

** -Hakuna Matata ~Kimmi~**

I looked at my signature as I collected my things and sent the message to Daesung. I really was laughable wasn't I?

_Ha, hakuna matata….no worries. I certainly seem to have quite a few of them right now. I am such a hypocrite._ I opened the door to the classroom and walked down the deserted hall towards the meeting rooms. I kept looking over my shoulder as I walked, almost expecting people to pop out of nowhere and start accusing me of things and pushing me around. But I did make it to the meeting room Daesung was in, one of the two doors was slightly open and I could hear them talking from outside. I decided to knock on the door, and all the talking quickly stopped. I hoped it was safe to enter, so I knocked again and stuck my head in the open part of the door.

"KIMMI-SSHI! CAUME EN! CAUME EEN!" Wait a second, was Daesung trying to speak English? "We hauve been wheeting for you." I couldn't help but giggle a little bit at his English. "Whut? My English good iz not?" I just smiled at him, and came fully into the room.

_English Mode: Eh…kinda ON._

" It's just wonderful Dae-sshi" I answered him sarcastically. "I think I might need to help you study a bit more though." I heard someone clearing their throat and looked around. There was what I assumed to be his manager and a secretary, both with opened planners and lunch boxes in front of them. I could see the area Daesung had been sitting in just before that. All the papers laid out and an already empty lunch box to the side.

_At least we can't say the boy doesn't have an appetite_. I thought to myself. Then his manger spoke up.

"Oh Daesung. Is this your…um, new friend?" I could see him looking at me like he had no idea what to make of what stood before him. You know, like how your friend or parents look when they go to put together the new furniture from IKEA, but the direction are completely in Spanish or Chinese? Yeah, that look.

"Yus. Yus eet iz." He said smiling and still speaking in English. "She iz come America!" He continued to smile. He must have thought his use of the English language was masterful based on the way he was acting. I laughed.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'from' Dae-sshi. 'She is FROM America." He looked at me and then went quiet for a moment thinking it over.

"Oooooohhhh…" He looked back at me. "AIGO! So Stopiid!" And he smacked his hand into his face and laughed. I smiled as his manager tried to regain control. He probably didn't realize I spoke Korean at this point, because of the fact we were talking in English, and because of what he said next.

"Oh, I see. Well I must say I am surprised. You always do seem to make friends quite easily don't you?" He paused and looked at me with a sour expression before continuing. "But Daesung, please. Can't you think about your image for a moment? What would fans and the media think if they saw you hanging around with an obese American girl, seemingly fresh off the boat? I mean really?" Daesung and I both froze. At that point, my mind and the world stopped. I don't remember exactly what order everything happened in, but I know at some point Daesung whipped around and told the manager that I did indeed speak fluent Korean and had almost perfect writing. And I remember hearing the secretary quietly gasp. But what I don't remember is the point where my knees gave way, and I had fallen to the floor in a hopeless sobbing mess. I guess I really should have seen this coming. I mean he was a manger for Korean idols right? He expect perfection. Perfect singing, perfect acting, perfect looking, perfect bodies, hair and everything else. Even the people that were seen with the idol had to be perfect, and instead, in I walk, speaking English and looking like an overfilled tube of toothpaste. Just your average, fat, ignorant, size fourteen, white American girl with no real looks, talent or anything to offer up to the idol he was representing. At least, that's how I figured he saw everything at the time.

As time started again, I found myself on my knees, sobbing uncontrollably, my head in my hands, trying to cover my face and stifle to crying. I guess I had really zoned out for a while there, because I realized that I could longer hear the manager or the secretary, and that the only other person in the room was Daesung. Who was also on his knees and had his arms around me in a gentle hug, rubbing my back and talking to me.

"Shhhh….I know, it's alright Kimmi-sshi." He kept cooing to me in Korean. "You just let yourself cry and get all that bad energy out of your system. Manager was really mean back there, but he didn't realize you spoke Korean, so he thought it safe to say rude things. I promise when I go back to the company, I'll make sure to report him. I promise." I wanted to believe him and I wanted to stop crying, but even when I tried to ease up, the tears kept coming. I guess the realization of hearing someone say how ft I was to my face, really hit me the hardest. "Shhhh…" I kept hearing him say. I wanted his words to help, I really did, but nothing seemed to be making me feel better.

"I….I….I feel…like…such a mon…mons…nster" I managed to spit out thru the tears. "I…AM…A…MONSTER!" Daesung looked shocked and stunned for a moment; he stopped comforting and just sat there. A moment that was just long enough for me to stand up and find the door to the hallway.

I needed to get out of there. I needed to forget the world and Daesung. I needed to be alone, and come back to reality, a reality that was shattered when I decided to come with my parents to Korea and entered this school. As I walked, I was vaguely aware of a few students walking the halls. I must have let time slip away from me again, since the last thing I remember was it being the middle of lunch hour, and now it seemed to be after school club time. Had Daesung missed his afternoon classes AGAIN for me? AISH! I really was a problem in his perfect idol hair.

I hurried past everyone and everything and found myself at the stairs. I could go down and try and go home, but that would be even more problematic if either of my parents were home. Or I could go up and hide out on the roof for a while until I calmed down and came to my senses. After thinking about how my parents would deal with things, I headed towards the roof.

I opened the door to the roof and immediately took a deep breath trying to center myself and find a spot to relax. I wiped my eyes with the side of my hand and saw a shaded spot in the corner of the roof. It was behind the door, so you wouldn't see me if you just happened to come up here, plus there seemed to be no one up here at the time.

I crawled into the corner and pulled my bag off my back. I guess I was lucky that everything had happened so quickly and I hadn't had time to settle into the room. If I had, I would have forgotten my bag and everything else and that would have made stuff that much more problematic later. I blindly searched thru my bag for my I-Pod. But the first thing my hand hit was my cell phone, and it was vibrating. I took it out and saw that I had two texts and three missed phone calls. All from Daesung.

_Don't bother with me anymore Daesung. As your manager said, I am nothing but a problem for you, and I'll just ruin your image._ I sighed and cleared all calls and texts from my phone. Placing it back in my bag, I found my I-Pod. I wanted to listen to something somber and calming. As I scrolled thru my music, I couldn't help but stop at "Haru, Haru", but I knew better then to play that now. Hearing Daesung's voice and remember what had just happened not even an hour before this would have only brought on a new wave of tears. So I continued to scroll. Going past all of the Big Bang music I had, I wound up picking more of an angry sounding song. "Don't Don" by Super Junior came on and I closed my eyes as the music began yelling at me. The song was playing and I was at the ending of Henry Lau's rocking violin solo when I decided to open my eyes and look up at the sky.

_How can everything seem to perfect when you look at the beautiful blue sky, and then be so crappy when you look right in front of you?_ I began wondering how and what life had in store for me. I mean what could it be trying to prove by putting me thru all this in such a short time? Thus the timeless saying came into my mind _"Life is truly a mystery."_ I closed my eyes and decided to not think about anything for a while, and to just let myself drift for a bit.

I had made it thru a few more songs including DBSK's "O" and SHINee's "Pretty Noona Replay", and was about half asleep when I felt hands grab my arms and shake me strongly. I almost fell on my side as I opened my eyes and pulled a bud out of my ear.

"AY! What's your prob…" I stopped when I saw two unnaturally wide brown squinty eyes staring back at me. I backtracked in my head and took in the sight before me. Daesung was crouched down in front of me, his hands on my arms, and his face was all red. "I..uh..Da…" I began trying to back up away from him, but my back was already up against the roof fence. "Daee….I di…" I couldn't even finish a simple sentence before my face dropped and I instead looked at the pattern on my skirt. The music was still playing on one ear when I heard Big Bang's "Lies" start. That's also when Daesung started talking.

"Don't you ever do that AGAIN!" I froze. Was he angry? I've never heard Daesung angry, not in concert, not in music or any talk show. He was always calm, smiling and laughing Daesung. Even when he was shy and not happy, he would get quiet, but never angry. And here he was mad, in front of me. I hid my face worried that he was going to be mad at me. "Do you know what I just went thru looking for you?" When I heard this, I looked back up at him.

"What?" I asked blankly, our eyes meeting again. "What do you mean looking for me?" I looked down at the clock on my I-Pod. "Dae-sshi, it's almost three o'clock. School's been out for about an hour and you should be getting to whatever practice or rehearsal you have today. Don't worry about me. I'm fine." I tried to look away from him, but he only moved himself so he was still in my direct line of vision.

"No, you're obviously not okay. I know we both heard the same thing back there. And I also know that it hit you hard. Remember, I was the one rubbing your back and trying to come you down before you bolted out of there." He looked at me so seriously and with such sincerity that I couldn't look away. "And as for my schedule" he said finally letting a small smile creep back up on his face. "I have the day off! Today is a free day that the guys and I are using to celebrate doing so well on the last round of production and shows." Then he stopped and looked at me with what seemed like a glint in his eye. "In fact…..hmmm." How the boy went from being completely mad and angry to completely happy and mischievous, I will never know. It's like he has some kind of emotional disorder or something. Oh well.

Before I could even laugh about that idea, he had whipped his cell phone out and was, scrolling thru the menu talking to himself like a mad man.

"Yes, hmm…I know she mentioned having off today. Unless the recording she was talking about was moved up today. No, she wouldn't do that, because when I invited her to come join us she said she was going to be free till seven thirty…hmmm" I looked at his face as he said this, wondering what was going thru his head. He was squinting his eyes, even more than normal and pursing his lips together. Whatever he was thinking about, he was thinking real hard. "I think I may have just the thing to cheer you up!" He said to me.

"Dae-sshi. Really, you don't have to do anything for me. I'm fine, plus we both heard your manager today. You need to think about your image and about how your fans are going to see you. If you're with me, it might not be the best image." I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, and I could feel that lump forming in my throat again. "maybe it's just best that we don't be friends. I mean you're a Korean idol, and I'm…well I'm just another fat American gi.."

"STOP." He had cut me off before I could even finish the sentence. "First off I wouldn't care who you are, you're my friend and that's what counts. You followed me and trusted me without knowing who I was. You laughed with me and treated me like a human every time you saw me. Everyone else, like you witnessed this morning, treats me like some kind of God or something. Something they have to worship and adore, something they need to give gifts to and force themselves upon. Do you know how much I hate this? But you, you're different." He finally allowed himself to sit down next to me before he continued. "Now yes, I will admit, you're a bit chubby, but you're certainly not obese and you're certainly NOT ugly. In fact, I..uh..think you're really…you know, pretty. You're not like the other girls, you're not the same flat looking tooth pick that most of these girls are. Plus you have a funny personality to die for!" He said poking my side. I laughed and retorted.

"You're one to talk ! If I remember right, you're supposedly the prankster and instigator of the group…" He laughed at me and nodded his head. "And just do you know, I will take your compliment, but I will not believe it." He tried to say something, but I put my hand up to stop him. "Let me finish, I don't believe you because you're my friend, and you can ask any of my friends from America, you're automatically biased and have to say that kind of stuff…BECAUSE you're my friend. Trust me, you can say whatever you want but it won't change my mind." I finished, put my hand down and made the biggest over the top smile I could at him.

"Aish….are you done now?" He asked rolling his eyes. "We're going to be late if we waste anymore time. Let me just make a call…" He trailed off. I watched him pull up a number on his phone, but he wouldn't let me see who it was. He pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear. After a few seconds someone must have picked up because he started talking to someone on the other end of the line. "AH! YOBOSEYO NOONA! IT'S DAESUNGIE!" I laughed hearing him so energetic. He stood up and started pacing as he spoke. "Hey, I have a favor to ask of you. That is if you have the time." He paused for a moment before continuing. "No, no, nothing like that, it won't take to long…" he turned to look at me and then continued. "Maybe take about an hour…you'll have a lot to work with so it won't be hard…Yeah…I know. Okay, ten minutes? Your new apartment right? Awesome! I really owe you one noona! Anyong!" He hung up and ran back over to me grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet.

"Woah, woah, woah! What's gotten into you?" I asked pulling my arm back into its socket. He was starting to jump up and down with some kind of excitement.

"Let's go! Let's go! We're gonna be late it we waste anymore time. Just trust me." He said grabbing my arm and dragging me away for the rooftop. A confused look was still stuck on my face. We made it down to the third floor before he stopped and ran over to a locker. "Hold on, let me just grab something real quick!" He opened the locker and rummaged around for a brief moment. He finally pulled out a baseball cap that looked a few sizes too big for me, and two pairs of very fashionable sunglasses. He smiled at me before putting both pairs in front of me. "I always come prepared! Pick the pair you like better. It's best to go incognito for this mission." I could feel the smile creep up on my lips, you couldn't say this boy didn't go all out when he had an idea, could you? I saw a pair of BSX glasses and a pair of FILA glasses. From what I could assume by their looks, both were expensive.

"Ummmm, which pair is more girly..I guess?" I picked up the FILA pair and put them on.

"Those look perfect on you!" He laughed. "They're so big they make your face look TINY!" He pinched his thumb and pointer together to emphasize his point. He put on the other pair and the baseball cap. "Okay then! Let's go." We made our way out of the school and down the block where he tried to call for a cab. No cab was stopping, and I saw people beginning to notice who he was.

_This could get real ugly real fast_. I realized looking around. Seems like it was time for the New Yorker in me to finally make her appearance. I walked over and put my hand on his arm.

"Why don't you let me try Dae-sshi." He looked at me, then back at the street.

"I don't know…cab's in Seoul can be pretty vicious and hard to come by." He actually seemed a little worried. I laughed slightly and pushed him out of the way.

"Really now. Let's just see then, shall we?" I threw my arm up and in my loudest New Yorker accented English (and trust me I am a VERY loud person when I want to be) I yelled "YO TAXI!" The yell did attract a bunch of stares from people on the sidewalks and in the shops, but not thirty seconds later a cab pulled over to the side of the road and waited for us to get in. I looked over at Daesung and saw what looked like a very impressed look on his face. As we walked over to the cab I leaned in and told him, "Sorry, did I forget to mention? I'm natively from New York. Even living in the suburban areas, hailing taxi's is in our blood." And I saw him laugh as he got into the cab.

He was already telling the driver the address of where we were going before I had finished closing the door.

"…street. Oh, and there is an extra thousand won in it for you if you can get us there within the next six minutes." I saw the drivers eye flick up, and a smile come over his face as he looked into the rear view mirror and hit the timer.

Let's just say we made it there in less than five minutes. I don't know how the driver did it, but my heart was in my throat the whole time. Daesung on the other hand obviously LOVED the mini adventure. Throwing his hands up and cheering the driver on like this was some kind of amusement park ride and not a car in the middle of the street that we could just as easily have been killed in. I threw him a glare as we got out of the car and he paid the driver.

"Thank you very much." He said handing him money. "Please, keep the change, that was really fast and fun!" I scoffed.

"Fun he says", and rolled my eyes. I looked away and decided to take notice of where we had been dropped off. It was what looked like a very expensive hotel. But the side of it said 'Seoul Estates- Apartments for Rent'. I could only assume what it probably looked like inside the 'estates' and wondered exactly how much a place like that went for a month.

_Easily more than your family could afford sweetie._ I thought to myself, then followed Daesung as he walked inside the ornate, doorman ready front doors. He must have visited here before, because when we went to enter the doorman opened the door and addressed him.

"Good afternoon " He bowed as we passed. Daesung simply waved and said the same thing back as we walked to the giant glass elevators. This place really did have everything! He hit the button and the elevator on our left dinged. I followed him on. He hit the button for the top penthouse floor, where you just know all the really expensive suites were.

"Are we going to your place?" I asked a little worried. I mean we're friends and all, but isn't it a little sudden and early for him to be taking me back to his place? He just laughed and took off his sunglasses.

"Nah, don't worry. We're going to my friend's new apartment. She's going to help us out with something. In fact, you may just know her already." I met his smile with another inquisitive stare.

_I might know HER, and she was going to HELP us out with SOMETHING…hmmm, got me Daesung. But I sure as hell trust you. I mean if I didn't would I have followed you this far?_ I turned back to the doors and waited as we reached the top level and the doors opened. There was a long hallway in front of us. Each end led to one door, meaning that whatever as up here was so large that there was only two of these penthouses. And in a city as tightly packed as Seoul, to have that bit a place…can you say WOW! Daesung speed walked to the one on the left side of the hallway and knocked on the door before I had even reached him. The door opened and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen stuck her head out.

"OH DAESUNGIE!" She fully opened the door and pulled him into a hug. "It's been to long!" He laughed and returned the hug.

"NOONA! It really has." He let go of her and turned to me. "This is what I was talking about." He stretched his arm out and looked like he was trying to show me off or something.

_WAIT A MINUTE!, what did he mean by that? 'What he was talking about'? Me? Really now?_ I looked at him and then back to the woman he was standing next to. And that ladies and gentlemen is when it hit me. The woman he was standing with, the woman he was hugging and calling 'noona', was none other than the queen of Korean pop herself. LEE HYORI! No joke! My mouth dropped open and I began stuttering a little bit.

"Ya…yu…you're Lee Hyori!" I said pointing at her in my momentary lapse of judgement. They both laughed.

"Why yes, I believe I am." She joked. "Or at least I was last time I looked in the mirror!" They both laughed. "So now tell me, who are you?" And she pointed her long slender finger back at me.

"Me? Oh um…."I looked at Daesung, as if he would have the answer for some reason. "I'm Kim. Kimberly Baccaridi. But everyone just calls me Ridi or in Dae-sshi's case Kim." Then Daesung decided to add something to that.

"Psh…Kim nothing. All her BEST friends call her Kimmi. Isn't that right KIMMI-sshi?" I laughed.

"Yeah I guess it is DAEDAE-sshi!" Everything went silent for a moment before Hyori broke out laughing at both of us.

"Wow, you two are great together. No wonder you seem to get along great, you both have a really good sense of humor. DaeDae-sshi! I like it. I think I'm going to use that from now on." She smiled and opened the door completely as Daesung just gave me a short glare. "Come in, come in. I don't have much time to work now do I DaeDae-sshi?" Again, he gave me a funny glare as we follow Hyori into her apartment.

It was indeed spacious, but I didn't really get time to look around because next thing I knew she had grabbed my arm and was leading me towards the very large bedroom and private sitting area. She called over her shoulder as we rushed away.

"I promise I'll take care of everything as fast as I can. You know where the drinks are and I just had fresh fruit delivered so help yourself. We shouldn't be too long." She closed the door behind us, turned to me and began giving me this mad scientist like look. "This is going to be fun! Now stand still." She ordered and started walking around me in a circle. "Yes…I see now. Well, you have very nice skin and very pretty eyes, but we're going to have to work with cover up right now since you're a teenager and it is warm out, the acne in everyone is flaring up and you're no exception." I wanted to hide my face, but she smacked my hands down. "No…I need a good, full look before I can work. Now stand still." She kept walking around me. "You are chubby, I won't lie about that. But we can worry about that another time, since with diet and exercise it is a fairly easy fix." I interjected at that point.

"If you can help me with that in anyway, I would be forever grateful!" She stopped walking and listened to me. "I've been trying to exercise and I have been working on my diet eating fruits and such. So far I have dropped about 3 pounds in a week, but I want to do whatever I can!" I smiled and tried to show my determination.

"OH! I knew I was going to love you! She said throwing her arms around me. "We so have to be work-out and hang out buddies Kimmi-sshi!"

_Did the queen of k-pop Lee Hyori just ask me to be her friend and work-out buddy? Um yea, I think she did._ Wow…just wow.

"Here, enter your number into my phone while I finish up my assessment." She handed me her phone and started circling around me again. I entered me number as she began to speak. "He was right, you do have a lot to work with. You have a lot of curves, and pardon my language here, but a very nice butt. It reminds me of what do you call it? Um…J. Lo? Yes, that's it J. Lo." I didn't even have a response for that comment so I stood there, with Hyori's phone in my hands and listened to her. :alright well now I know what I'm working with, let's get this underway!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a smaller room with make-up and a vanity in it. There was a multitude of hair care and facial care products, not to mention the entire unending stock of every color and brand of make-up the eye could see. It appears that Lee Hyori enjoys dressing things up, and I'm her newest life size Barbie. "Yay!"

About an hour later, I had been poked, prodded, brushed, curled, straightened, rubbed, painted and facialed, among other things. But wow, did I look good! Hyori had a way with make-up I had to admit. No wonder she always looked amazing. She could make a walrus look like a million bucks, so of course already being pretty, she can make herself look like a true goddess. But I digress.

"Alright, we're done. Now to find you some clothes, because trust me. Your uniform just will not do. She led me out of the vanity area and opened the doors to another area separated from the bedroom. I found myself looking at a closet, but not just any closet. This closet was the size of my room (and my room is pretty big), and held every piece of clothing you could imagine in every color you could imagine. I thought I had died and gone to heaven, since all I could do was stand there and stare at the amazing-ness that was Lee Hyori's closet. "Yes, I know, beautiful isn't it? I guess I just got lucky that so many groups and designers give me free clothes, not to mention a lot of time when I do any kind of shoots or promotions they tend to give me the clothes to keep afterwards. And I just don't have the heart to say no, or throw anything out, because like a true girl, I love all my clothes!" She laughed and walked into the room. "Let's do this fast and easy. Now…" she trailed off letting her hands run along a rack of clothes.

"Oh wow!" I said reaching what was the most gorgeous top I had ever seen. It was a long black tank top, with white and silver stars on it, but coming out of the arms of the top, was what looked like a white long sleeved top. It was very light to the feel and something so original that I couldn't take my eyes off it. Hyori laughed.

"Oh yes, that top takes me back. I wore it a LONG time ago for a photo shoot. It was an original design actually. My stylist at the time came up with it, and hand sewed it together from two different tops. I probably should have gotten rid of it a long time ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to part with it." She ran her hand down the shirt, and then took it off it's hanger. "Try it on." She said honestly.

"Wh..what?" I looked at the top now sitting in my hands. "But I can't. This top means to much to you, plus I'm worried I will stretch it out. I mean look how small it is!"

" Aish….plese Kimmi-sshi, listen to me. One thing you have to understand about Korea is most everything comes in one-size. Where no matter how it looks on the hanger or folded up, it's made to be a one size fits all kind of clothing. So don't worry about stretching it. Both tops used to make this one are from that, a one size fits all." She pushed me behind a changing screen. "Now, put it on."

I did was I was told and was surprised to see it fit me. It wasn't as baggy as I am sure it was supposed to be, but it looked nice, hugged my arms and showed off all the right curves without showing off my stomach. I came out from behind the screen to show Hyori and from the excited gasp, I think she agreed.

"Oh, it's just PERFECT!" She had me spin for her twice before running back to the clothes and pulling out some more things. "…and a ring. Oh! And here is the perfect hair piece to go with that…and can't forget shoes! How about these cute little sandals? They should fit no problem!" I was smiling all the while as she placed these things on me. As she seemed to be finishing, I looked at what I had one and noticed one thing missing.

"Um…Hyori-sshi?" I asked her quietly.

"Please sweetie, call me 'noona'! Just like Dae-sshi." She continued to dance around the room as I tried again.

"Oh, okay…then..uh…Noona?" She stopped and looked at me.

"Yes?"

"Um…what about pants or something?" We both looked down and realized I was still wearing my uniform skirt.

"Oh….yes…that is a little bit of a problem. Give me a moment." She said and ran out of the room. About ten minutes later she returned with a pair of pants in tow. "You know, staying in a place like this sure had its perks. Like 24/7 concierge service. I had put in a call about thirty minutes ago for a certain pair of jeans from this awesome little designer who lives is Seoul. And now poof, here they are. In a size fourteen none the less!" She held them up to me. "I love them so much I have a pair of them myself!" When she's right, she is right. They were awesome little pants decorated all down the side in what looked like a zebra pattern, it was distressed in the back pockets and was pre-ripped in the knees, it matched the top perfectly. With everything on, I couldn't help but smile like she had. In only about an hour and a half I had gone from dull average me to wow!

"From now on noona." I said with a huge smile on my face. "You have to take me shopping with you! I want to learn to dress and look like this ALL the time! I feel so pretty!"

"Of course sweetie! Now that you're in my phone, I promise to dial you up and we can go shopping together! After all, a close friend of Dae-sshi's is an even closer friend of mine!" We laughed together.

Looking over myself one last time I did a turn and surveyed everything. I had on that hand combined star top, the zebra patterned and distressed jeans, along with an oversized white studded belt that hung around my hips, helping to break up my silhouette. On my feet were a pair of dressy sandals that looked like they belonged in India rather than on my feet, but the blue and black colors went with the jeans and top to well for me not to have worn them. For my hair, she had lightly curled everything, giving me flowing yet manageable waves and of course straightened side bangs as per the style now. And finally make-up was kept simple but elegant. Soft smokey eye shadow that blended so well you almost couldn't tell I was wearing it, slight eye liner on my bottom and top lids along with the usual foundation, mascara and a pale lip gloss to keep everything a neutral.

"Oh….noona is good isn't she?" Hyori asked dancing around me with a camera in tow. I smiled and simply nodded my head to agree, worried that if I spoke, I might shatter the perfection and reality would come crashing back down around me. "Let's go show DaeDae-sshi!" I laughed at the nickname as she pulled me out of the room and back towards the main living room.

She made me wait for her to announce me, because she said that a look like this had to be prepared for. I only rolled my eyes and waited patiently. We had made him wait almost an hour and a half, how much more was she going to make the poor boy wait?

"Okay, ready?" She asked him.

"Yes noona, I am ready, let's see what she looks like. After all we need to get going if we are going to make it on time…wait, you didn't overdo it did you? No gowns, no dressed...no formal up-dos…did you?"n I heard her laugh.

"Nope. Plain and simple for your little party, I promise!" Then there was silence for a few seconds before "Okay Kimmi-sshi, come on out." It was the moment of truth.

I stepped out from behind the bedroom door and into the afternoon sunlight. For a moment I wasn't sure what Daesung thought, because his face became blank and impossible to read.

"Um..Dae-sshi?" I asked quietly worried that he would hate it.

"Noona…" he started still looking at me. "You…are…a GENIUS!" Then a smile appeared on his face and he seemed genuinely happy. "See I knew I could count on you! What are you doing singing and dancing for a living? You should have been a stylist!" He got up and circled around me. "Wow…you look GOOD Kimmi-sshi. Really, really good." I started to blush.

"Wow, thanks Dae-sshi. It was all thanks to Hyori. She can turn dirt into gold." I saw Hyori shake her head to disagree.

"Sweetie, if anything I simply polished the diamond to make it shine like it should, or I simply melted away the gold's impurities and made It perfect, but the base and everything was already there to start with. I just finished them." She picked up the camera and faced Daesung and I. "Now, you two, SMILE!" I did as I was told and stood next to Daesung smiling, but right before she took the picture, he put his arm around me and made me go from a smile to a suddenly surprised face as Hyori snapped the photo and the mini Polaroid popped out.

"Shall we go then?" Daesung asked, moving his arm off of me. "We do have a party to go to after all. It was the reason I brought you here in the first place." He picked up my bag along with his and began walking out the door. "Thanks again noona! I know I can always count on you."

"Hey you owe me one you little twirp!" She called back at him laughing. Then coming up to give me a hug good bye, she handed me the picture and smiled. "Keep this, it's a really cute photo and something you can save for the future. And sweetie, keep these clothes and remember to keep in touch! BYE!" And before I could argue with her about eh clothes or anything else, she had walked me to the door and pushed me out to stand in the hall with Daesung.

_What was that? I feel like I just got back from an adventure in Wonderland._ I felt so thrown around and out of it that I didn't even speak the entire way down the elevator. But I did notice that like me, Daesung had also changed into a regular top and jeans set. Neither of us wearing our uniforms any longer. As the elevator dinged to let us know we were on the ground floor, Deasung again handed me the sun glasses I had been wearing earlier, put on his own and asked me.

"Are you ready?" I began to wonder.

"Ready for what exactly?"

"Just follow my lead and stay with me alright?" I nodded, and the elevator doors opened.

I guess someone had seen Daesung come in and had tipped of the media to where he was, because as soon as the doors opened, there were reporters and photographers in the lobby. For a moment no one noticed us, and we had made it about half way thru the lobby. The one of the photographers must have seen us, because all of a sudden we heard,

"There he is! There's KANG DAESUNG!" And the reporters and media, along with fans were all over us. We tried to manage our way thru the crowd and almost got swallowed up until thankfully workers and security for the apartment complex came and helped us get out from the middle of the organized chaos. As we made our way out they yelled everything at us, from compliments on Big Bang's latest work, to questions about upcoming events and about the other members. The one question that caught me off guard, was when one of the reporters yelled to us.

", is that your girlfriend?" Well, I almost ran into Daesung's back I was so surprised. Of course we didn't answer that or any other question, but the fact it was asked still surprised me. Did that mean I looked good enough to be his girlfriend?

_GAH! No! Stop it Kim. Focus, how could you ever be someone like Kang Daesung's girlfriend? You're just liking the way it sounds because he's your favorite member of Big Bang. Now hush before you get your hopes up and think about it anymore._

We finally made it out to a waiting cab, got in and Daesung told him the directions, before pulling away from the curb and everyone else.

"Sorry about that." He said in a sigh of relief. "It's not normally that bad when they do show up, but I guess something had them particularly tipped off and interested." He smiled at me before noticing that I didn't respond. Since we had gotten in the cab, I had curled up with my hands between my legs, my face looking down, and my hair covering my face. I didn't know how to respond to anything there, and all their questions took me so off guard. He waved his hand in front of my face to get my attention. When I looked up, he continued. "Hey! Ignore them! No worries right? Let's just got have good time." That's when I remembered him talking about a party with Hyori noona before, and the whole reason he got me dressed up.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked.

"Why for a BANGIN' Celebration of course! Big Bang style!"


End file.
